


Another Chance

by softSnowdrop



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Complete, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-03
Updated: 2017-12-03
Packaged: 2019-02-10 01:06:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12900693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/softSnowdrop/pseuds/softSnowdrop
Summary: Sometimes good people make poor choices.Everything Ilia has done over the past few years has been a long line of poor choices, she feels.For the first time in ages, she doesn't feel like she's making a mistake.





	Another Chance

**Author's Note:**

> Uhhh Spoilers for V5C8? Tbh? It's canon divergent, but uhh. Yeah.

_She’s not like Adam; not yet, at least._

                Blake reassured herself constantly as she made her way to an all-too-familiar alleyway—one where she was set to meet her old friend.

                Behind her, following from the rooftops at a distance for now, was another familiar face—she knew better than to just meet someone alone, especially at night, after they had _specified_ to come alone.

                It was safer this way; it was always safer in numbers, even if possible adversaries couldn’t exactly _see_ those numbers. Not only was the entire island hesitant towards the Belladonnas at the moment, but there were _always_ members of The White Fang lurking.

                She stood still in the open light of the edge of the alley, and looked into the darkness; she knew Ilia’s abilities all too well, so she hesitated, but called out to her. “Ilia…?”

_Was it really help that she wanted? She said that she would find me._

                It didn’t take long for Ilia to respond; a very soft and concerned “I’m here.” Piped up from the shadows as the other slowly—with her hands held above her head—walked out of the shadows, still dark as night.

                The minute she saw her face, Blake tensed and withdrew Gambol Shroud, readying herself for anything Ilia would throw at her.

                Blake could only silently pray to whichever deity was listening at the moment that Ilia really did want help. She remained tense, though while tense, she only hoped for the best, that what Ilia had written was true.

                _Things are going too far. Not sure what to do._

 

                Seeing her take down her disguise, Blake relaxed slightly; “Ilia, I know you’re scared, but you don’t have to be.” She fought back the desire to cry as she spoke, her eyes locked on Ilia. She didn’t want to risk Ilia betraying her—not now. Despite her anxiety, despite her mistrust, she stood firm, she remained confident and reassuring with her words. “My family and I—we can keep you safe.”

                Ilia inhaled sharply and turned her face away, whispering a soft “I’m sorry” as she did so.

                Blake relaxed a bit more than she had before—she straightened herself and let her guard down as she spoke again. “You can make it up to me by helping us stop Corsac and Fennec.”

                She took a hesitant step towards Ilia; it was a start at closing the gap between the two. One step turned to two, two to three, and before she knew it, she was an arms-length apart from her.

                Ilia said nothing; she only opened her eyes and briefly looked at Blake before averting them again, and closing them tightly.

                “Ilia, I promise—everything will be okay. We can stop this, nobody else has to get hurt—nobody else has to die. We can stop Adam, we can—”

                Ilia interrupted, her words blunt, and immediately heavy. “He’s already killed Sienna Khan. Blake, he already has The White Fang’s support in Mistral, I don’t think there’s that much we can do.”

                Blake stood, now in frozen horror and shock— _already_? Adam Taurus has already killed Sienna?

                “Corsac and Fennec are going to spread the idea that it was a human huntsman that came in and killed her—he did it himself. And I… Gods, Blake, I thought it was necessary.” Her voice cracked, and she started to shiver. “Blake,” She returned her tear-filled gaze back to the other. “Blake—they want to kill your family, and they want me to capture you and send you to Adam in Mistral.”

                _Please, stop._ Blake repeated to herself internally—she couldn’t find the means to speak, she could only stand in terror; if Ilia was telling the truth, when were they planning to attack?

 

_I’ll kill everyone you love._

                His words echoed in her head, just as clear as the day that he had said them. Yang had been the first casualty—she survived, but Blake wasn’t okay with risking her life again.

_She probably hates me now. After she told me how horrified she was of being abandoned, how could she not?_

_I miss her, but it’s safer that way. She won’t be near me. Adam won’t go after her._ Blake had initially reassured herself.

                But in this moment, she realized that nobody was safe; and if he knew about Ilia meeting her to warn her—she would be in danger, too.

                “Ilia… When? When do they want this to happen?”

                “They wanted it done as soon as possible, but I… I lied. Tonight—originally, they wanted me to start the mission tonight—but I told them that we had to wait until we got your friend out of the way.”

                Blake instantly snapped at Ilia’s words, she clenched her teeth and shouted. “You sent them after Sun?”

                “No! No—Blake, I wouldn’t do that to you, please—I told them that I would take care of him tonight—I wouldn’t do that to you, please believe me, I—”

                Blake drew a deep breath and closed her eyes tightly. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled; I should have more faith in you.”

               

                Ilia lowered her hands slowly once Blake opened her eyes again; she kept her own gaze locked on her face, studying her for any sign of trust, mistrust, anger—she scanned for anything that would lead her to find out what she was thinking in this moment.

                “Blake… I won’t let them hurt your family. I won’t let them hurt you. I don’t want that, that’s the last thing that I want to happen—I can’t send you back to Adam.” Ilia took a single step forward, slowly as she could, only to close the gap just a bit more.

                “Thanks, Ilia… I’m glad that you’re on my side, again.” Though she hesitated to let it slip, a small smile tugged at her lips. “I’ve missed you, you know? All this time, I’ve been telling Sun—I’ve been telling myself ‘this isn’t her’. So it’s just… Really good to have you back.”

                Ilia blinked, caught off-guard by the other’s words. “You… Missed me?”

_How could she miss me? I’ve been gathering information on her, I called her and her family the worst, I’ve been horrible to her lately._

                “Ilia, you’re not like Adam, and I don’t think you ever will be.”

                “Blake, I’ve done horrible things since you’ve been gone. I’ve been a horrible person, I—”

                “Ilia—it’s over, now. That’s not you, that was never you—sometimes… Good people just make shitty decisions. Sometimes they do bad things. You know what you’ve done wrong, and—”

                “But I _knew_ what I was doing was wrong! Blake, I attacked innocent people, I supported murderers, all because they had me convinced it was for the greater good, that everything I was doing would make strides in helping us!” She faltered, and hid her face in her hands. “I almost went through with attacking you—I was so scared when I left that room. Blake, I _never_ want to hurt you, but when they told me that it was a necessary sacrifice, I felt like I didn’t have a choice.”

                Blake stood still for but a moment, and then she slowly put her arms around the other and pulled her in close. “Ilia,” She kept her voice soft and as stable as she could, though she couldn’t help but admit that she was horrified and overwhelmed by all of this. “You _chose_ not to attack me. You’re not bad, you’re making an effort to not be. You’re here, and you’re safe. We’ll keep each other safe, I promise.”

                Ilia, by this point, had started sobbing; though Blake’s warmth radiated through to her—both physically and in spirit—she kept her face in her hands, and could now only choke out muffled apologies.

                “Ilia, you don’t have to apologize anymore. It’s over; we’ll make it through this. You, me, my family, Sun—we’re all here for each other. You’ve got another chance.”

               

                It took a few minutes to hush her; a few minutes of sitting on the ground in the shadows, holding Ilia close and reassuring her. But Blake eventually got through to her; she had shown Ilia the same patience and kindness that Yang and Ruby showed her in the past.

                She sat silently for a few minutes, leaning against Blake with her head against her shoulder.

                The moment just didn’t feel real to her at all. Even if her eyes did sting, and her chest felt heavy with heartbreak, hurt, and fear.

                “Can I…” Ilia sniffled, she paused for a moment before continuing. “Blake, can I confess something to you?”

                “Of course.”

                “You’ve… Always had a thing for Adam, right? Or you used to, at least. The way you looked at him just… Always broke my heart.” Ilia paused again, slowly sitting up straight and looking at Blake; tears started to well in her eyes once again, and a small smile formed on her lips. “I’ve always wanted you to look at me like that.”

                Blake furrowed her brow and immediately started to scan the other’s face; she reached up and carefully cupped the other’s face in her hands, and pressed their foreheads together. She kept her eyes shut, and she drew a deep breath, taking a moment to think about what she wanted to say.

                Ilia stayed put; she didn’t move, in fear that Blake would run away again—in fear that she had done something wrong, something that would break her slowly-reforming bond and ruin everything.

                Blake spoke as quietly as ever, though it was sweeter than before. “Ilia, I’ve always loved you. I honestly have.” She opened her eyes again, another smile forming on her lips. “But… If you want to be together, can we please just… Wait awhile? I want us to get to know each other again.”

                Ilia gave the tiniest nod she could, her forehead still lightly pressed against the other’s; a genuine, kind smile formed on her lips, and she felt nothing but relief wash over her at Blake’s words. “Of course—of course, we can take as much time as we need.”

                With that, Blake stood and extended a hand out to the other, smiling softly at her. “Well, come on. We have a lot to talk about with my parents.”

                Ilia reached out to take the hand offered to her, and stood. She wiped her eyes one last time and laughed. “Hey, it’s been years since we’ve spent time together like this, hasn’t it?”

                “It has. If you want, I can call home and ask my dad to fix you something to eat? I’m sure he, mom, and Sun will be glad to know _someone_ is on our side.”

**Author's Note:**

> HOO BOY SO LIKE, we finally got that lgbtq+ representation Roosterteeth was talkin' about for literal years!!
> 
> I'm really happy, I love Ilia dearly, but at the same time, I'm really, really nervous--a villain? Is our representation? Please, please, please, give her a redemption arc, let her LIVE, let her be HAPPY.  
> I wanted to write something that was... A bit more hopeful than canon. So, this happened.


End file.
